Nick took his time getting out of bed on Sunday morning. Tom and Sammy had gone out to do something incredibly geeky together. Nick wasn't entirely sure what it was, but he knew it involved physics. He trusted Tom. As long as Sammy was with his dad, Nick knew he'd be safe.

He showered and fixed himself a cup of coffee, and then he sat down with his laptop. Thanksgiving was only a few days away. He, Tom, and Sammy were going to spend it together, but Nick hadn't put a plan together yet. His as yet unnamed little fetus was still sucking up all of his energy, so he didn't think putting together a big meal on Thursday would be a great plan. If he paced himself, though, and spread things out through the week, he should be okay.

He opened up his scheduling spreadsheet for the week and thought about what he wanted to serve. The last time he'd been pregnant, he'd had a lot of morning sickness. He expected it this time around, but all he had was a few cravings and a lot of fatigue. Right now, the baby wanted dairy. Specifically, the baby wanted cheese. Well, he could give the baby plenty of cheese. He could cook lasagna, or baked ziti. Those could both be made cheaply enough, if he played his cards right, and the leftovers made fantastic lunches.

Someone rang the doorbell.

Nick jumped, pulse thundering in his ears. For a minute he thought the people threatening the hospital had come to find him and put a bullet in his head. It was stupid, of course. That didn't happen. There was no reason for them to single Nick out, even if they did decide to hunt down ER staff. He got up and looked out the door.

Everything about the man standing on the doorstep screamed SEAL. His haircut was typical military, but his beard wasn't. Only Special Forces were allowed to grow beards, Tony had explained that last night. He wore dark, casual clothes, but his posture told Nick he was on alert and Nick could see the bulge of a gun under his shirt near his hip. "Can I help you?"

The stranger gave him a thin smile. He looked a little familiar to Nick, but not overly so. They'd probably seen one another at that disastrous party. "Jake Baudin. I'm a friend of Tom's. Mind if I come in?” He pushed into the condo as though Nick had invited him.

Nick scowled. "Tom isn't here right now. I'll be happy to ask him to call you when he gets home."

Baudin sat down on the couch. "Would you mind bringing me some coffee? It's been a day."

Nick gritted his teeth. He was tempted to tell Baudin exactly where to go and what to do. Baudin, however, had a gun. He was also a friend of Tom's. If this had been Nick's house, Nick would have chased him away in a heartbeat. Since this was Tom's place, though, he had to bear with him.

He got a mug of coffee for Baudin and brought it out without fanfare. Baudin's lip curled, like he was expecting something fancier or more gracious, but he accepted the cup anyway. "So why are you here, if Fitzpatrick is out?"

Nick narrowed his eyes at Baudin. "Is there a reason you pushed your way in here?"

"Just making conversation.” Baudin smirked. "Omegas are all so touchy, honestly. Of course you would be touchy. I'd be touchy too if I were squatting in a man's condo, scheming to get his death benefits."

"The door's over there. You can leave any time.” Nick's hand didn't shake when he pointed toward the door. He wasn't sure how he managed that, since all of his insides were trembling, but he could be proud of his relative stoicism.

"I'm actually pretty glad he's not here. I came out to talk to you.” Baudin sipped at his coffee. "Well, I'll give you this much. You make a decent cup of coffee. Look. I'm on to you, Kosloski. I know what you're trying to do."

"Plan Thanksgiving dinner?” Nick raised an eyebrow and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Right now, he didn't care if Baudin was a friend of Tom's or not. "Do they not have Thanksgiving on Troll Planet?"

"Name calling. Very mature. I shouldn't have expected more, I guess, but still. Look. We both know that kid's not Fitzpatrick's, okay? You're not the first omega to see a SEAL alpha and think, 'Oh, hey, here comes the gravy train! Batter up!' I'll give you extra points for thinking of it ten years later. But hey—an opportunity presented itself, and you grabbed right on. Like a leech.”

Something in Nick's belly burned like a brand. "Excuse the hell out of you? What gives you the right to suggest that, or even think it? Get out of Tom's house, and don't come back."

"You don't have the right to kick me out of Fitzpatrick's house. You don't have any rights here at all.” He snapped his fingers. "You're just a freeloader. You going to call the cops? You going to seriously expect them to take the word of a guy who gave birth out of wedlock over a decorated SEAL? Are you that fucking stupid?” Baudin rose to his feet and jumped over into Nick's space in one smooth motion, too fast to be seen. He grabbed Nick by the collar.

Nick wasn't much of a fighter, not when it came to fist fights anyway. All he could do was bring his foot down, as hard as he could, on Baudin's instep. Baudin backhanded him hard enough to send Nick to the ground, but it got Nick out of Baudin's personal orbit.

"You little bitch!" Baudin snarled. "You need to remember your place.” He stormed over to Nick and kicked him in the side. "You've never been anything but a whore, and you never will be. Do you think I don't know your history? Do you think I don't know how you slutted around Bow String until Fitzpatrick finally took pity on you?"

Nick spat at Baudin. His spittle had blood in it, but Nick only noticed when the thick glob hit Baudin's face. "You couldn't even find Bow String on a map, you insufferable prick. You think coming in here and beating me up is going to somehow get you your way? What, do you want him for yourself?” He noticed he was wheezing, and that concerned him, but he didn't have time to do anything about it yet.

Baudin kicked him again and then grabbed him by his hair. He hauled Nick to his feet with a mighty grunt. Nick felt some of his hair give. Would Tom still want him if this Baudin guy tore out all of Nick's hair? Nick would have to survive this before he got to find out. "What I want is for you to go far, far away. If I could get you to leave the country, I would. A skank like you has no business anywhere near the SEALs."

Nick dove for his phone. He'd dropped it when Baudin backhanded him. "You want to deny Tom his son?"

"That's no more his son than it is mine.” Baudin kicked the phone to the other side of the living area.

"Like any self-respecting omega would give you the time of day.” Nick rolled out of Baudin's reach and grabbed the phone. He dialed 911.

Baudin stomped on his wrist. Nick screamed. Baudin wasn't wearing boots, but he was still a muscular guy and he knew just how to hurt a man. Pain radiated up from the wrist, and Nick knew the joint was broken. He'd be lucky to get away with a clean, simple fracture.

"I'm choosy about my partners. I'm careful. I don't pick people who get themselves pregnant to get a shot at my benefits and salary. "

A tinny voice rang out from the phone. "Nine one one, what is your location and emergency?"

"Assault in progress.” Nick gasped out the address of Tom's condo. "Armed and dangerous."

"You son of a bitch.” Baudin dropped to his knees and punched Nick in the face. The whole right side of his face exploded in agony. "You seriously want to go there? I can afford better lawyers than you can even dream of."

The dispatcher on the other end cleared her throat. "This call is recorded and help is on its way. Is your life in danger, sir?"

"Yes!" Nick cried. "And I'm pregnant."

Baudin recoiled in horror. Nick took the opportunity to curl up into a little ball, so he could better protect his baby. "You shameless sack of shit.” Baudin punched him again. "How could you do that to Fitzpatrick? He's a good guy, better than ten of you, and you have to ruin his life by going and getting pregnant?” The next punch bashed Nick's head into the ground, dazing him. "If you were so hot to have him inside you, you should have used protection.” Another punch. "Or better yet, you should have stayed the fuck away from him entirely."

Sirens screamed in the distance. Nick could barely focus. The room was spinning too much for Nick to keep track of which direction the sirens were coming from, and it was probably too soon for the police to respond to his call anyway. He tried to move his hands up, to try to cover his face, but he couldn't move them quite right.

Baudin was still ranting, unhinged, and furious. Nick gave up trying to argue with him, or trying to get him to make sense. It wasn't going to work and it was only going to frustrate him. He struggled to stay awake instead. He couldn't quite be sure what was going on around him, but he knew it wasn't good.

Baudin rained blows down on him again and again. It seemed like seconds, or an eternity, before a strange male voice barked out, "Virginia Beach PD!  Hands up!"

Nick made a feeble attempt to raise his hands.

"Not you," said another strange voice. "Don't move. Christ, Irving, he looks bad."

The first guy was reading Miranda rights. Nick had gotten confused as to whom he might be reading them to. His head throbbed so badly he couldn't see much beyond shapes. Why was that again?

"Better get him into an ambulance. Hey, Mr. Kosloski, where should we take you?”

"Portsmouth.” Nick knew what he was trying to say. He had to say it a couple more times before the police could understand him, but he managed to think clearly enough to make the attempt. "Call Tom?"

Another blob, in the dark blue of a policeman's uniform, approached. "Would that be Tom Fitzpatrick in your phone, Mr. Kosloski?"

"Yeah.” Nick closed his eyes. The blobs were making his head hurt even worse. "He's a good guy. Has to take care of Sammy."

"You keep him away from Fitzpatrick!” Baudin snarled. Nick heard the rattle of chains as Baudin struggled in his handcuffs. "That omega's nothing but a scheming piece of crap. You mark my words, he destroys everything he touches. Just you wait and see."

"Get him out of here," said the blob named Irving. "Kyrie, you want to give this Tom Fitzpatrick a call and tell him to meet up with us over at Portsmouth ER? Wilson and Petty, you guys go and canvass the neighbors. See what you can find out. I'll hang out here with Mr. Kosloski until the truck gets here."

The ambulance arrived five minutes later. Nick didn't fight as they strapped him to the backboard before loading him onto the gurney. He didn't have a neck injury, but they didn't know that, and their procedures demanded they follow protocol with head injuries like his. They were kind enough to cover him with a blanket before wheeling him out to face the watchful eyes of all the neighbors.

Nick would have to send them a fruit basket, just as soon as he got back to work.

The sirens made his head hurt worse. He knew that they would know that, and that they would only use them if they absolutely had to. That told him the EMTs were more worried about his condition than they were letting on. Either that or they were putting on a show for the nurse, who knew? His concussion made it a little difficult for him to follow one thought logically through to its conclusion, but he knew it wasn't a good sign for him.

The ER was ready for him. They knew he was pregnant, of course, even though he hadn't made any formal announcements. Because of the pregnancy, they didn't want to send him for any imaging unless the benefits clearly outweighed the risks, especially when he was having so much trouble following a conversation. He couldn't be said to be able to decide for himself, and of course he didn't have anyone who was authorized to make that decision for him. He understood that, deep down. Dr. Yulin admitted him for at least the night, possibly longer, to monitor his condition and make sure it didn't worsen.

Knowing he was being monitored made Nick more comfortable. A weight had been lifted from his mind. He could relax and let himself go now, answering the sleep that beckoned him. The part of him that was still a professional knew sleep and concussions didn't mix, but he was in a hospital. He'd just been brutally attacked in a place that should have been safe for him. All he wanted was to go to sleep and rest.

He woke up a few hours later. He had no way of knowing how long it had been. He still couldn't focus on the clock. A slender, pale hand gripped his own. "Ssh," Mal's soft brogue told him. "Don't get your heart rate up or Emily Snyder will be coming in again. She's the nurse on duty tonight."

Nick frowned. He was in the hospital, and he hurt everywhere, but he couldn't remember why. "Emily's the clumsiest nurse in the ER."

"Right?” Mal chuckled. "So calm yourself before she notices your heart rate going through the roof and accidentally strangles herself to death on your IV."

Nick took a deep breath and tried to meditate. The pain in his head only got worse. "It hurts.” He hated the whining in his own voice.

"I know it does.” Mal squeezed his hand. "Baudin gave you quite the beating."

Nick scratched his head, and then snatched his hand away when the touch sent new waves of agony through him. "Why would I have been anywhere near any of the guys from the platoon?"

Mal sighed. "I'm sure those details will come to you. Or Baudin will fess up, eventually. What I do know is that you left the phone on while it was happening. Dispatch recorded everything, so there's no he-said, she-said crap."

"Sammy? Tom?"

"Are fine. They're at your place. Tom didn't think you'd want Sammy to see you like this, and the house is technically a crime scene anyway.”

"My baby?"

"Looks strong.” Mal sniffed. "I'm sorry I got to see the sonogram before you did."

"It's okay.” Nick let the darkness swallow him again. "As long as it's healthy, it's all okay."

***

Tom got leave to stay out of the office on Monday morning, because his son needed him, and he needed to check in with Nick. Technically, the Navy didn't need to give him that time at all. Nick wasn't anyone, legally, to Tom. Chief had encouraged him to marry Nick, and he'd hesitated. Now Nick was in a hospital room, and the only thing Tom could use to force bureaucracy to listen was his own status as Sammy's dad.

They wound up pulling Sammy out of school, under the circumstances. He went to go stay with Tony and Chief until Nick was able to care for him again, which might not be for a while. The thought of depending on the Boones so much made Tom cringe, but they had no choice.

Baudin had done a number on Nick. If he hadn't been a SEAL, he'd have been charged with attempted murder. As it was, Tom couldn't believe his eyes when he walked into the briefing room on Tuesday morning and found Baudin there. His knuckles were raw and bruised, and his wrists were black and blue, but he sat there with a proud grin on his face.

Tom snapped. How could the Navy allow this man to wear the uniform after what he'd done, and to the partner of one of his brothers no less? He marched right up to Baudin and punched him in the face. He aimed for the cheek. Baudin had broken Nick's right orbital bone. Tom aimed there first, slamming two mighty punches there before Baudin could move.

Baudin staggered back. "What the actual fuck, you freak?"

Kelly got between them. "Sit down and shut your pie hole, Baudin. No one has time for your shit today."

Baudin tried to step around Kelly. "I was doing you a favor."

Tom punched him in the nose. "You broke his wrist.” He slammed his fist into the side of Baudin's jaw. "You concussed him so badly he's going to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital.” He sent a vicious uppercut to Baudin's chin. "You broke his ribs!"

Kelly got between them again, and this time Toledano and Hopper grabbed onto Baudin. Dark arms encircled Tom's chest, and only now did he become aware of the fact that Floyd was pulling him away. "That's for the courts or whoever to decide.” Kelly flattened his mouth out. "I mean, it was all caught on tape and everything, but we're not vigilantes here."

Baudin struggled against his captors. Tom wished, just for a moment, that one of them would just snap his little neck. "The little bitch wouldn't have gotten hurt if he'd just heard me out and done what I told him. I told you, I was looking out for you. Instead he got mouthy. I grabbed him, trying to put the fear of God into him, and he stomped on my foot."

"What the fuck gave you the right to be there in the first place?” Tom strained to get away from Floyd, but Floyd was probably the single strongest guy in the platoon. He wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm your brother. It's my job to stick up for you, even when you won't stick up for yourself.” Baudin stopped struggling against Toledano and Hopper and tried to stand up with some dignity. "He's using you. He's using you, and you're too goddamn blind to see it."

"He's not using me, you insane son of a bitch.” Tom broke free of Floyd long enough to kick Baudin square in the knee. Baudin let out a scream of pain before Floyd and Kelly stepped in to seize Tom again. "For fuck's sake, you get his base pay is higher than ours, dumbass?"

"He doesn't get our hazard pay, our combat bonuses, or our other incentives. Then there's our insurance, our bennies, our death bennies—he's looking for the gravy train." Baudin's eyes were wild now. "He's got a kid he can't support, and now he wants a baby daddy for it. You're not dumb enough to think you're that brat's real daddy? Come on. He was spreading his legs for all of Bow String before you had him."

"He was a virgin.” A cold fury washed over Tom. "I know, because we were always together. All of the time. Fuck off and die, Baudin."

"I'm telling you, that kid isn't yours!” Baudin's words echoed off the walls.

"He looks just like Fitzpatrick, idiot.” Adami yawned. "Are we done with Super Drama Power Hour? Because when Chief and DeWitt come in and find you two going at it like this, he's going to rip you both a new pair of assholes. And I'm going to laugh my ass off."

Tom snarled. Baudin spat at Adami. "You don't care that your own brother is throwing himself away on a guy you know is trying to trap him?"

Adami flipped Baudin off. "I think you're pissed off at that guy you were dating who tried to poke a hole in the condom, and now you're seeing it everywhere you look."

The doors flew open, and Chief and DeWitt walked in. "Well, I see you boys got the party started without me.” Chief stuck his thumbs into his belt loops and pursed his lips, turning his head to look between Tom and Baudin. "Can't say as I'm surprised, really. I should have seen this coming, but you couldn't have waited until after we went through our morning orders? Really?” He turned to Baudin. "Sit down. You have charges pending in civilian court. You have charges pending in Navy court too. We might be able to make the charges in civilian court go away, but I wouldn't hold my breath. It seems like someone was too stupid to get punchy on base, and had to go getting punchy on private property."

"Chief, it's not my fault.” Baudin stood at attention, but didn't salute. "The bitch opened his mouth and—"

"If I hear you refer to an omega as a bitch one more time, Baudin, I'll make what you did to Nick look like a cake walk. The only reason, and I do mean the only reason, I came and got you from that jail is because I was ordered to. And not, I should point out, by DeWitt."

DeWitt stepped forward. Tom had never seen him so angry. "Sit down, Fitzpatrick. I'm pissed at you for punching him in the briefing room, but under the circumstances I can see it. Sit down."

Tom slunk back to his seat. That rage still burned inside him, so hot it burned cold, but this wasn't the place to express it.

DeWitt paced in front of the men for a few moments. "We're a platoon. Our job is to have one another's backs. We have to be able to trust one another without question. We don't always have to like one another. We don't have to love one another. But we are obligated to have each other's backs. We are obligated to step in and save one another's lives without regard to race, creed, or condition. That means that we should probably avoid doing things that are unforgivable. Can we all agree on that?"

The SEALs, with the exception of Tom, muttered an assent among themselves.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you.” DeWitt glowered at them.

"Aye aye Sir!" the SEALs replied, with one voice. Tom mouthed the words.

"On Sunday, one of our number decided to take it upon himself to physically assault the partner of another of us. Buelen, if it were you, how would you respond?"

"Oh, I'd kill him.” Buelen didn't even hesitate. That made Tom feel good. "I'd rip him up but good."

"The hell you would.” Baudin scoffed and stretched in his seat.

"You want to go right now?” Buelen stood up.

"Sit down, both of you.” Chief yawned. "Enough posturing. No one here's going to impress anyone else. The only person here who has a legitimate beef is Fitzpatrick."

DeWitt cleared his throat and gave Chief a significant glance.

"What? It's true. I get that Baudin believed he was going over to 'reason' with Nick. And I know that Baudin, deep in his heart of hearts, truly believes that he's somehow saving Fitzpatrick from the scheme that all omegas secretly have of getting their hands on our riches.” Chief made a jerking off gesture. "I might even have been sympathetic, because I know the boy's been burned. But any sympathy went out the door when he forced his way into the house and put his hands on someone else's partner. Sorry.”

DeWitt growled. "We're supposed to be impartial."

"That was impartial.” Chief leaned against the battered old metal desk at the front of the room. "You haven't heard the half of what I want to say about it. I'm pissed."

"Look.” Baudin rose. "It wasn't ever my intention to hurt him. I went over there, and I knew he wasn't going to want to talk to me so I did force my way in. But damn it, someone has to look out for you. Like Lt. DeWitt said, we're supposed to have one another's back. That doesn't mean leave your buddy to get taken in by someone like him. He was going to call the cops when I wouldn't leave. I grabbed his shirt, and he stomped on my foot. That's when I snapped."

"You're in dire need of some anger management classes.” DeWitt clenched his jaw. "I'm not sure how any of this is going to play out in the courts. I have the distinct impression that it's all going to be up to the JAG. We're going to be shipping out as soon as the holiday is over."

"Wait, what?” Tom jumped to his feet. "Just like that?"

DeWitt spun on his heel to face Tom. "Fitzpatrick, I'm sympathetic but we have orders. And as for the team, my job is to keep this team together. We're all stuck with each other. Shake hands and play nice."

Tom sucked in his cheeks. "And if I don't?"

DeWitt sighed. "Don't push your luck, Fitzpatrick."

"So let me get this straight. This jackass has the right to break into my house and beat up my pregnant boyfriend, and there isn't a goddamn thing I can do about it." Tom couldn't get enough air into his lungs. He was going to be sick.

"Not really.” DeWitt looked away, just for a minute. "We've got a job to do. If the JAG and the civilian courts both want to pursue charges, of course, that will be something to handle when we get back. But maybe you should hear your fellow SEAL out and figure out why he's so dead set against you being with this guy. It's not right, what he did, but these guys are your brothers. You're supposed to value them."

"Bros before hoes," Toledano added with a little curl of his lip. Tom wasn't sure if he was agreeing with the sentiment or mocking it, but he wasn't exactly at home to giving people the benefit of the doubt right now.

He gritted his teeth. "I see how it is. And when Nick pushes for those charges to stick?"

"I'd hope you'd remember who it was that pulled you out of that stake trap in Turkey.” DeWitt retorted. "You know he'd do the same thing for you."

"Oh. He'd forgive the person who beat the father of his children into a pulp?” Tom sneered.

"Do you want to be charged with insubordination?” DeWitt crossed his arms over his chest.

Tom gritted his teeth and approached Baudin. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. He understood why DeWitt was insisting on this. It wasn't about Tom or Baudin, or about Nick. It was about the fact that they were about to deploy into a war zone, and DeWitt would be a fool to deploy into a war zone with a powder keg like this mess.

DeWitt was definitely a fool if he thought a handshake was going to fix a damn thing.

He took Baudin's outstretched hand and made sure to dig his thumb into one of the scraped-raw places on his enemy's knuckles. He pressed down and squeezed. Sure, it was petty. Just now, Tom didn't care about petty. Nick couldn't get any kind of revenge or justice for himself, but Tom could. "This is under duress," he told Baudin, through clenched teeth. "It has no force in law. You stay the fuck away from my family, you son of a bitch."

"When I find your family I'll be sure and do that.”

"Baudin!" Chief barked. "You're reporting for your first mandatory counseling session. Now." He grabbed Baudin by the ear and dragged him out of the briefing room.

DeWitt narrowed his eyes at Tom, but he gave out orders to the remaining men and dismissed them. "Fitzpatrick, stay a moment.” It wasn't a request.

Tom approached and stood at attention before his commander. "Sir."

"Do I need to worry about you and weapons around Baudin?"

Tom hadn't thought he could be more shocked than he was when he was told to play nice, but now he knew. "Sir, I'm not the kind of man to kill in cold blood."

"But you're still upset about what happened."

"He tried to kill my family, and you're surprised I'm upset?” Tom was too disgusted to observe proper deference to an officer. "Sure, he pulled me out of that pit. And I got shot pulling his ass out of a burning jeep. I don't owe him a goddamn thing. The father of my firstborn, and the man carrying my unborn child, is lying in a hospital bed and Jake Baudin put him there, on purpose."

DeWitt held up a hand. "I understand that. But Fitzpatrick, try to understand. He thought he was rescuing you."

"If he can't trust me when I tell him the truth, and tell him what happened with Nick, and tell him that I want to be with Nick, then I can't trust him behind me with a loaded weapon. I can't trust him to know the difference between an enemy and a friend. Does he need help? Sure. Does he deserve compassion? As much as any of us do—except we don't go around beating civilians to a pulp because we don't like the fact that they're sleeping with our 'brothers.'“ He shook his head. "He's going to walk."

"We have a retention issue right now.” DeWitt sighed. "Having a SEAL get sent to jail for something like this—there's no way the Pentagon will want it in the paper."

"Instead, they're willing to lose another SEAL, and have it get into the paper anyway. Because there is no way Nick's going to back down on this. He's fought too hard and too long to get this job and to own a home. He's not going to let a jackass like Baudin run him off of it.”

"Baudin spent his entire life without consequences, because his daddy could just buy him out of trouble. And it's just happened again. That ain't justice, Lieutenant. And I'm starting to wonder if there's any justice to be found.”

DeWitt hung his head. "You're dismissed. I hope you come around."

Tom didn't answer. He didn't trust himself to.